There is a large variety of cleaning equipment used for domestic and industrial cleaning, ranging from domestic vacuum cleaners to liquid based cleaning devices. Devices for cleaning hard surfaces involve loosening dirt, grease, oil and other materials by scrubbing or the application of water under high pressure. Cleaning liquids such as solvents or detergents may also be utilised. The loosened material is usually removed by flushing with water.
One disadvantage with existing cleaning and flushing arrangements concerns the effective disposal of the loosened material. Flushing such material down open drains may offend anti-pollution regulations because of the contaminate levels in the loosened materials and waste water. There is also a considerable cost in collecting the loosened material and transporting it to a suitable waste disposal or treatment facility.
There is a commercial need for equipment which, not only effectively cleans the surface, but which also captures the loosened material and provides for proper disposal of such material.
There have been attempts at providing clean and capture devices utilising vacuum extraction and flexible sealing skirts. The effectiveness of these devices has been limited. For example, the disposition of the vacuum inlet has limited their effectiveness and versatility. In many cases, the mobility of these devices is restricted due to the provision of wheels or castors which support the weight of the device during operation. In such devices the flexible sealing skirt usually includes a brush arrangement that only partially supports the weight of the device. A further disadvantage of such devices is that they cannot effectively clean undulating hard surfaces because of the air gap beneath the brush skirt which results in the surface being left damp, thus presenting a slip hazard.